Senior directors at Civil Service asked to resign by Finance Ministry

As per our correspondent’s report, the Federal Ministry of Finance has issued an order for all directors who have completed eight years in the directorate cadre to submit their notices for early retirement. This directive aligns with the newly introduced tenure limit for directors in the Federal Civil Service.

The memo, dated August 3, 2023, and signed by the ministry’s Director of Administration, Mariya Rufai, was circulated to all directors and heads of ministry units.

Furthermore, the Federal Government has implemented a tenure policy for Permanent Secretaries under the recently revised rules. According to this policy, Permanent Secretaries will serve for a fixed term of four years. However, their tenure is subject to renewal based on performance evaluations. Additionally, directors who have served for eight years are now required to retire at the end of this period.

The Head of Civil Service for the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan, has called for the immediate implementation of the Public Service Rules (PSR) across all ministries, prompting the Ministry of Finance to issue the mentioned memo.

I write to refer you to the “2021 Revised Edition” of the Public Service Rules which takes effect from 27th July 2023. Consequently, all Directors (SGL 17) who have spent eight years and above on the post are by this Internal Circular directed to submit their notice of retirement in line with Section 020909 of the revised PSR effective from the date stated thereof.

Accordingly, all affected directors are advised to commence the process of documentation with the Administration Department for compulsory retirement by virtue of the section under reference.

Furthermore, the Directors in question should formally hand over to the most senior officers in their respective Departments and surrender all official documents including Identification Cards as well as official vehicles (if any) before exiting.

Please bring the content of this internal circular to the attention of all concerned for strict compliance.